International Property Maintenance Code

In September of 2017, the Commonwealth Court decided the City of Williamsport Bureau of Codes vs. DeRaffele.  The City cited one of its residents for a violation of the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code.  In 2003, the City adopted a version of the code by ordinance, and the ordinance referenced all subsequent changes to the International Property Maintenance Code in the future.  The Court ruled that the Court should not “allow cities to adopt entirely new ordinances, or provisions thereof, sight unseen.” Even though the City adopted future versions of the International Property Maintenance Code, the Court ruled that it cannot incorporate into its ordinances versions that do not exist at that time.  Most municipalities have language in their ordinances which adopt future amendments.  This case would make those ordinances unenforceable.